Jennifer Wells: We need mental health supports in schools

Friday

Mar 22, 2013 at 8:06 AMMar 22, 2013 at 8:10 AM

I have been a teacher in central Iowa for 14 years. In that time, I have taught classes for children with social and emotional issues. Those of us who teach in these classrooms are aware that we will be dealing with a variety of behavioral issues from students who are withdrawn to ones who are outwardly aggressive who have attacked other students and teachers.

I have been a teacher in central Iowa for 14 years. In that time, I have taught classes for children with social and emotional issues. Those of us who teach in these classrooms are aware that we will be dealing with a variety of behavioral issues from students who are withdrawn to ones who are outwardly aggressive who have attacked other students and teachers.

During my time in the classroom, I have had students wield staplers and tape dispensers at me, while another attempted to attack me with scissors. The most challenging year of my career came when I had one student assault me more than 20 times in the course of the school year. I was kicked, punched, bitten and assaulted sexually. Each day I would go home physically and mentally exhausted.

My story is not unique. Many other teachers have shared their stories and photographs of assaults at the hands of those they are trying to educate. A teacher was stabbed while pregnant and sent to the hospital. Another teacher indicated that a student had threatened to shoot her with the gun he has access to at home.

Many students with psychological issues manifest themselves in other ways. Teachers report students attempting suicidal behaviors at school such as wrapping belts around their necks. Multiple teachers and counselors have reported students with schizophrenia running away from school or unable to perform in classes because of voices insisting school is a bad place. Last year, one school reported more than 30 students hospitalized for mental health issues.

One out of every 10 children has a mental illness, yet fewer than 20 percent of those are being treated. Educators are trained to teach academics. Teachers lack the appropriate therapeutic training some of our students need. We hear from parents who desperately want their child to receive care, but they have to wait two months to get in to visit with a mental health professional.

In an informal survey of teachers, counselors and administrators across the state, a colleague and I found that some rural communities are lacking the most resources. Some communities share one therapist for multiple cities, while some do not have any. There is great disparity among school districts across the state in access to mental health resources. This is totally unacceptable.

Our society cannot continue to think of mental illness as something to be hidden away and ignored. We have to remove the stigma that prevents people from getting adequate help and keeps our society from addressing it as we would for any other health care crisis. The ramifications of ignoring mental illness are far too dire.

The time has come to address mental health. This cannot be done without the collaboration of everyone — state legislators, the Iowa Department of Education, mental health professionals, administrators, higher education, teachers, parents and our children.

We need to have data collected, our educators need training, we need more access to mental health resources, we need a stronger partnership with mental health professionals, our future teachers need training, and our communities need more mental health options for our children. We need more inpatient and day treatment facilities. We need more therapists working with schools and families. We need professionals training and consulting with schools.

This is a long-term investment in our students and our communities. More than 65 percent of incarcerated children have a mental illness. The cost for early intervention and treatment is far less than incarceration.

Approximately 50 percent of students living with an untreated mental illness drop out of school. Research shows that early intervention and treatment can be successful and minimize costs.

Teachers cannot be afraid to tell their administrators what they face in their classrooms. State officials need to fund programs now. Prompt action will save money in the future, to say nothing of the lives it will change.

As teachers, we consider it a sacred duty to prepare our students to become happy and productive members of society, but we cannot fight this battle alone.

Jennifer Wells, of West Des Moines, is a special education teacher, adjunct professor at Drake University and a board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Greater Des Moines. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/GettingMentalHealthSupportsInSchools.

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